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Growing banana from seed indoors

Updated: 21 October 2026

The seedling is up, or you are about to pot one, and a UK room is a different problem from the sowing tray. Growing banana from seed indoors means a frost-free, bright space and a pot you can still move. The plant is for leaves, not a bunch of fruit. Sow temperatures stay on [how to sow banana seeds](/hub/herb-seeds/banana-seeds/sub/banana-seeds-how-to-sow). The [banana seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/banana-seeds) lists the packets. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F., updated 21 October 2026. These packets were not grown on. A conservatory or a heated greenhouse is the setting. A cold sill through winter is not.

The seedling is up, or you are about to pot one, and a UK room is a different problem from the sowing tray. Growing banana from seed indoors means a frost-free, bright space and a pot you can still move.

Our top picks

SAFLAX SAFLAX snow banana, 10 seeds, Ensete glaucum

Best overall

SAFLAX SAFLAX snow banana, 10 seeds, Ensete glaucum
8.1/10about £4.55
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SAFLAX SAFLAX Darjeeling banana, 5 seeds, Musa sikkimensis

Alternative

SAFLAX SAFLAX Darjeeling banana, 5 seeds, Musa sikkimensis
6.6/10about £4.55
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Seeds & Plants Shop by Ipsa 10 Musa acuminata dwarf banana seeds, Ipsa

Best value

Seeds & Plants Shop by Ipsa 10 Musa acuminata dwarf banana seeds, Ipsa
5.5/10about £3.23
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On this page
  1. 1.The room has to stay frost-free
  2. 2.Light and the next pot
  3. 3.Winter water and a minimum you can name
  4. 4.When it outgrows the room

The room has to stay frost-free

This page starts after germination. The RHS says most bananas will not survive frost, and that pots are more exposed than a plant in the ground. The safest winter place is a warm sunny room, a conservatory, or a heated greenhouse. A mixed cool-house figure of 5–7°C is not a minimum for every seedling, and it should not be pasted onto Ensete glaucum. The SAFLAX snow banana still needs frost-free cover: the Palm Centre says it does not survive a normal British winter outdoors. Planet Banana’s note on Musa acuminata wants a winter minimum of 10°C. That is not the sowing band of 21–24°C.

Light and the next pot

Under glass, the RHS sikkimensis note asks for full light with shade from hot sun, peat-free loam-based compost, free water in growth, and a balanced liquid feed each month. Shade a hot July pane. Do not park the plant in a dark corner all year. Re-pot in spring. Younger plants move up by about 5–7.5 cm in diameter. From 30 cm, add 10–15 cm every two to three years. A larger pot makes a larger plant. Gardeners’ World caps the jump at no more than twice the current pot, in a loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3.
SAFLAX SAFLAX snow banana, 10 seeds, Ensete glaucum

Testsieger

SAFLAX SAFLAX snow banana, 10 seeds, Ensete glaucum
8.1/10about £4.55
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Winter water and a minimum you can name

In winter the RHS says water occasionally and, in a container, let the compost dry before you water again. Sikkimensis under glass should be just moist, not wet. Planet Banana’s growing-on notes say stop feeding by the end of September and water sparingly once the compost has dried. A monthly feed into cold wet compost is how a resting plant rots. Do not quote one UK-wide minimum. Frost is too cold for most bananas. H3 for Musa sikkimensis, about −5°C to 1°C, is an outdoor band for mild coasts or protection, not an unheated porch. If you cannot hold frost-free conditions, do not start.

When it outgrows the room

Musa sikkimensis reaches 2.5–4 m over 5–10 years on the RHS details page. That is the SAFLAX Darjeeling packet, not a table plant. Ensete glaucum’s listing claims leaves up to 2 m and a pseudo-stem of 3–3.50 m. If you cut height in the growing season, leave at least 60 cm at the base. Measure the ceiling and the door before the second re-pot. Musa velutina is smaller in nursery notes, and it is not a listing here. A heated glasshouse is only the case where some bananas may fruit. That is not a yield for these packets. The outdoor genus choice is Musa or Ensete banana.

Common questions

Can you keep a banana from seed in a UK room all year?
You can if the room stays frost-free and bright, and if you accept the size. The RHS points tender plants to a warm sunny room, a conservatory, or a heated greenhouse, and says younger pots are more vulnerable to cold. A sill that drops below freezing when the heating is off is not that room. Species minima differ, so do not use one number for every packet.
How much light does it need once it is up?
The RHS sikkimensis note for under glass is full light with shade from hot sun. Summer glass will scorch leaves that were comfortable in spring, so shade the pane rather than moving the plant into a dark corner for the year. Outdoors, wind shreds the same leaves. A gloomy north room through winter is a weak match for that light line.
When do you move it to a larger pot?
Re-pot in spring. Younger plants go up by about 5–7.5 cm in diameter. From a 30 cm pot, the RHS says increase by 10–15 cm every two to three years. A larger pot grows a larger plant. Do not double past the plant you can still lift, and do not re-pot in midwinter into cold wet compost.
What winter temperature is safe to quote?
Frost is unsafe for most bananas. Beyond that, quote a source for the species you hold. Do not copy 5–7°C from a mixed conservatory list onto a seedling or onto Ensete glaucum. Planet Banana’s growing-on notes use 10°C as a bring-in night and 12°C for more tender kinds in the first winter. Those figures are not the 21–24°C sowing temperature.
How dry should the compost be in winter?
Let a container dry before you water again, which is the RHS winter line, and keep sikkimensis under glass just moist rather than wet. Stop feeding by the end of September if you follow the Planet Banana growing-on note, and water sparingly once the compost has dried. Summer’s free watering, left on through January, sits cold around the roots.
Which species in this set is the smaller indoor candidate?
Ipsa’s Musa acuminata, 10 seeds at about £3.23, is the named pot packet in this comparison. The title says dwarf and does not name a cultivar. Musa sikkimensis is the 2.5–4 m plant, and Ensete glaucum is the one you lift because it will not take a normal British winter outdoors. Musa velutina is smaller in nursery notes and is not a listing here.
Will it fruit in a conservatory?
Do not buy these packets for fruit. The RHS says most bananas will not flower or fruit outdoors, and that a heated greenhouse or conservatory is the unlikely case where some may. That sentence is not a yield for the SAFLAX or Ipsa seed. Kew’s Cavendish fruit has no seeds, so a packet was never the supermarket banana in the first place.

Related pages

Best banana seeds

Banana seeds

Banana seeds buying guide: name, count, and packer

How to sow banana seeds using one published method

Musa or Ensete banana seeds: clump or a winter lift

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are from the nine listings in this comparison. Scoring note dated 20 October 2026. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to grow bananas (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Musa sikkimensis (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. RHS hardiness ratings (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Kew, Cavendish banana (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, Import plants and plant products from non-EU countries to Great Britain (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. The Palm Centre, Ensete glaucum (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. Planet Banana, sowing notes (retrieved 20 October 2026)